WIMBLEDON is the oldest tennis tournament in the world – and it’s every tennis player’s dream to take part.
One of those players is Naomi Broady – but who is she?
Naomi Broady has been playing tennis since she was seven
Who is Naomi Broady?
Naomi Broady was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester in 1990.
She attended Priestnall School and began playing tennis when she was seven.
Naomi competed on the junior International Tennis Federation (ITF) Circuit from 2004 to 2008, and took part in the Wimbledon girls’ event in 2008, losing in the quarter finals.
This came a year after her suspension by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) due to “unprofessional behaviour” and “lack of discipline”.
The decision to suspend Naomi, and fellow tennis player David Rice, in September 2007 came after pictures were posted on Bebo.
The snaps showed 17-year-old Naomi in a mini skirt posing next to a condom machine.
The pair both lost their funding and coaching with the LTA.
As a result Naomi has always refused to play for the national team, including being part of the Federation Cup and Olympic squads.
In a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail, Broady said: “I don’t know why it was such a big deal. I wasn’t drunk and I wasn’t doing drugs either.
“I was trying to live, for a few nights at least, as a normal 17-year-old. It was blown out of all proportion.
“I was disgusted with how the LTA handled things.
“They warned me the picture would be appearing in the next day’s newspapers, but I heard nothing after that.”
Despite this, Naomi made her Grand Slam debut at the qualifying draw for Wimbledon in 2008 but was beaten by Rika Fujiwara.
In 2009, she won her first adult title in Grenoble, France, beating top seed Youlia Fedossova.
In 2014, she received a wildcard in the main draw for Wimbledon and recorded her first Grand Slam win defeating Timea Babos.
She has never progressed further than round one at the Australian and French Open, and has reached the second round at Wimbledon and the US Open singles in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
In the doubles she has gone as far as the third round at Wimbledon in 2016, with fellow Brit Heather Watson.
Naomi has had more success in the mixed doubles, reaching the Wimbledon quarter finals on two occasion – firstly with fellow Brit Neal Skupski in 2014, and then in 2021 with France’s Jérémy Chardy.
Naomi won her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) doubles title with Sara Sorribes at the Monterrey Open in Mexico in 2018.
She reached her best singles ranking of 76 in 2016 following successes at ITF events in the US, and in 2017 she peaked at world No56 for doubles.
Naomi is part of the BBC TV commentary team at Wimbledon in 2023.
Does Naomi Broady have any children?
Naomi gave birth to twins on December 19, 2022.
She posted a snap of the pair on Instagram on Christmas Day captioned: “Our Christmas gifts arrived early under the tree this year and whilst we haven’t made it home yet, we couldn’t be more grateful 19.12.22.”
She has since posted about being in NICU with “the boys” for eight days after their birth.
She hasn’t revealed the names of her children.
It is unclear whether she is in a relationship or who the father of her sons is.
Is Naomi Broady related to Liam Broady?
Tennis player Liam Broady is Naomi’s younger brother.
The pair also have another brother and sister, Calum and Emma.
As of July 2023, Liam is ranked at No.5 for Great Britain and world No142.
His best Grand Slam performance came in 2022 when he reached the third round of Wimbledon.
He has partnered his sister in mixed doubles on various occasions.
